What does "terraform" mean?

To transform the atmosphere (or biosphere) of another planet into one having the characteristics of Earth.

What is a synonym for "terraform"?

Common synonyms include: earthscape, earthscape.

How do you pronounce "terraform"?

Pronounced //ˈtɛɹəfɔː(ɹ)m//.

Terraform

//ˈtɛɹəfɔː(ɹ)m// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1
To transform the atmosphere (or biosphere) of another planet into one having the characteristics of Earth. transitive
"He had been the original claimant of Obania, forty years ago; and Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock, only two kilometers through—by sinking a shaft to its heart for the paragravity installation, generating oxygen and water from mineral oxides, releasing absorptive gases to trap the feeble heat of the far-off Sun."

Synonyms

All synonyms

earthscape earthscape

Example

More examples

"Why do we want to terraform Mars?"

Etymology

From Terra (“planet Earth”) + -form (“having the form of”). Coined by American science fiction author Jack Williamson in 1942 as part of his novella Collision Orbit.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.